Automatic synchronizing mechanism for chime-clocks.



C. COHAN. AUTOMATIC SYNCHRONIZING MECHANISM FOR CHIME CLOCKS.

APPLICATION HLED JULY M1918.

Patented J an. 28, 1919;

m: mum: Pifins co, mom-ma. wuummuu. n cy .chime at each hour quarter, will be reset au- -tion is such that UNITED STATES: PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES COI-IAN, F CINCINNATI, OHIO SSIGNOR- TO THE I-IERSCHEDE HALL CLOCK COMPANY, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO, A CCRPOBAEION OF OHIO.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 28, 1919.

Application filed July 1, 1918. Serial No. 242.741.

.matic Synchronizing Mechanism for Chime- Clocks, of which the following is a specification.

1 An object of my invention is to produce an improved mechanism for synchronizing the chime striking and time keeping mechanisms of chime clocks, whereby the striking mechanism after having been thrown out of adustment and caused to strike the wrong tomatically to strike the correct chime at each hour quarter.

A further object is to produce an improved mechanism for synchronizing the chime striking and time keeping mechanisms of chime clocks having chime drums which are longitudinally shiftable to change from one set of chimes to another.

In my improved mechanism the construc proper chime striking ad justment is made automatically at the end of each hour. I

In my improved construction I have provided but few new parts as additions to the usual elements to be found in quarter hour chime striking mechanisms. In the drawing Figure 1 is a fragmental front elevation of a chime clock mechanism embodying my invention, and Fig. 2 is a fragmental sectional view taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1.

The form of clock movement I have chosen as an illustration of an embodiment of my invention, is provided with a drum 3 upon which a series of chime hammer operating pins 4 are mounted, with a gear train and lever mounting housing 5 provided for sup porting the drum.

In the mechanism I have illustrated, the minute hand shaft 6 is disclosed with gearing 7 between it and a shaft 8 which carries a snail 9 having the usual-steps 10. 11, 12

and 13 for the first, second, third and fourth quarters of the hour. Upon these steps a pin 14 which is carried by an arm 15, bears. Arm 15 is attached to arm 16 of a rack 17 which is pivotally mounted on a pin 18 extending from the front plate of the clock works. A spring 19 is provided for engageinent with a finger 20 to maintain the pin 14 in engagement with the steps of snail 9. Cooperating with the teeth of rack 17 are a pawl 21 and a gathering pallet 22, the pawl having an arm 23 pivotally mounted on a pin 24 extending from the front plate of the clock works, and the pallet having a finger 25 extending therefrom and secured to the end of shaft 26 of the chime mechanism gear train.

To the rear of and mounted in snail 9 are a series of pins 27, 28, 29 and 30, pin 30 being set from the center a greater distance than the remaining three pins for a purpose to be hereinafter explained. In position to be engaged by these pins I have provided a strut 31 which is pivotally mounted at a point 32 upon a lever 33 which is pivotally mounted.

at a point 34 on the front plate of the clock works. Strut 31 is provided with a finger 35 which is held in engagement with a pin 36 mounted in lever 33, by a spring 37. The free end of lever 33 is provided with a forwardly extending pin 38 which bears upon the under edge of arm 23 of pawl 21 when the lever is lifted. Extending from the rear of lever 33 and through a slot- 39 in the front plate of the clock works is a stop plate 40 which lies in the path of a pin 41 carried by one of the gears of the gear train which actuates the chiming mechanism, during certain positions of lever 33.

Pivotally mounted upon a bracket 42 adjacent to the upper edge of the front plate of the clock works, and in position to have its lower end register with slot 39, is a lever 43 having a spring 44 upon its pivot pin to retain the lever frictionally in anv position it may be caused to occupy. The upper end of lever 43 is broadened for engagement with a pin 45 in the chime drum 3 of the clock, and the lower end is provided with an outturned end 46 which is adap ed to support pawl 21 from engagement with rack 17 during certain portions of the operation of the chime clock. by having a finger 47 which is formed with the pawl. rest thereon as shown in the drawing. The end 46 of lever 43 is joined to the lower end of said lever by an inclined portion which e gages the inclined upper edge of an upwardly extending project on 49 of lever 33.

The action of mv improved svnchrouizing mechanism is as follows :The parts are shown in the positions they occupy just before the striking of the hour or fourth quarter chime. The operation will be described as starting from this point.

As soon as pin 30 which is lifting up strut 31 and consequently lever 33, passes beyond the strut to permit it andlever 33 to drop, plate 40 is released from pin 41 of the chime gear train.- Operation of the gear train now causes gathering pallet 22 to engage the teeth of rack 17, while simultaneously causing rotation of drum 3. Continued operation of the mechanism therefore causes pallet 22 to attempt to pick up the rack, but owing to the lifted position of pawl 21 this cannot be accomplished until pin 45 has passed beneath the upper end of lever 43 to cause withdrawal of end 46 from finger 47, thereby permitting the pallet. to gather the teeth of the rack because of the engagement of the pawl therewith. This continuesuntil finger, 25 is caused to stop the operation of the chime gear train by its coming into contact with a pin. 50 extending from the rack and which has been brought into position to be engaged thereby by. the gathering of the rack teeth. I

As the next or first quarter hour approaches, pin 27 gradually lifts strut 31 until pawl 21 is lifted clear of the teeth of rack 17.

, The released rack then drops under the pressure of spring 19 until the pin 14 of its arm 15 engages step 13 of the snail. But one tooth of the rack has by this actionpassed beyond the point of pawl 21. Therefore, when plate 40, which has been brought'to intercept the path of in 41 when lever 33 was raised, is dropped by the droppingof lever 33 upon the passage of pin'27 beyond the end of strut 31, pallet 22 has but one tooth to v gather, thus permittingbut one quarter hour to be struck.

At the second quarter or' half hour, pin 28 causes the lifting of strut 31," but since pin 14 of rack arm- 15 falls onto step 12 of snail 9, two teeth of the rack pass beyond pawl 21, which causes the chime to strike two quarters.

.At the third quarter, pin 29 causes strut31 and lever 33 to lift, thus permitting the rack to drop to bring pin 14 onto step' 11. 'Three teeth of the rack are thus permitted to pass the pawl 21 so that the chime will strike three quarters.

Each time the lever 33 is lifted preparatory to the striking of the first, second and third quarter hour chime the pawl 21 is lifted far enough to release'the rack,but not far enough to lift its finger 47 above end 46 of lever 43. However, as soon as pin '30 again lifts strut 31 and lever 33 preparatory to'the hour chime strike, pin 38lifts finger 47 of pawl 21 above end 46 of lever 43,-projection 49 of lever 33 simultaneously pushing end 46 beneath finger 47 to support it as shown in the drawings. vThis action causes pin 14 of rack arm 15 to engage step 10, thus permitting four teeth of the rack to pass beneath the pawl 21 so that anhour chime of four quarters may be struck. The action of pushing the lower end 46 of lever 43 beneath finger 47 causes the upper end to move toward the chime pin drum in pos1- tion to be engaged by pin 45. As previously described, the pin 45 passing beneath the upper end of lever 43, causes withdrawal of end 46 and releasing of the chiming mechanism. T

The cooperation of the partswis suchthat when pin 45 causes the pawl '21 to. drop, the gathering of the first rack tooth bypallet 22 is started at the time the proper one of the four quarters to bestruck, is nearly completed, so that at the time all theteethhave been gathered up,"the complete chime? will have been struck. Should the mechanism have been released for striking the hour, at

a time when the chiming mechanism is out of adjustment, the mechanism will keep on running until the time the firstquarter of the hour chime is reached, at which time pawl 21 is dropped by reason of the engagement of pin 45 on the chime drum with stance has destroyed the synchronism--be-- tween the chime striking and time keeping mechanisms.

A feature of my invention is that by making the upper end of lever 43 broad as shown in Fig. 1, the drum-may be shifted longi-" tudinally to bring other chime-pins into operation without throwing thesynchronizing mechanism out of operation, therebyadapting my improved mechanism to use in chime clocks which are capable of producing. a

series of difi'erent'chimes by the mere shift ing of the chime drum.

Having thus described my invention,.-what I claim is;

1. An automatic synchronizing mechanism for the time keeping and chime striking mechanismsof chime clocks, consisting of a chime drum having a lever-engaging pin-extending therefrom, a lever pivotally mounted on the clock works adjacent to and adapted to be engaged by the pin, a-rack-engaging pawl, adapted to; be held from engagement with the rack by the lever, and means adapted to place the pawl in supporting engagement with the lever at redetermined times, whereby when the drum is rotate'dthepin will engage the-lever and release thepawl at the correct chime strike.

2. In combination in a chime clock, atim keep-mg mechanism, a chiming mechanism,

operated to release the pawl, said time keeping mechanism having a lever adapted to be 15 operated at predetermined intervals to lift the pawl from the rack teeth and onto the pawl-supporting lever and at other predetermined intervals to lift the pawl to release rack teeth only. a

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 28th day of June, 1918.

CHARLES COHAN. Witnesses:

W. THORNTON BoGEnT, WALTER F. MURRAY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. G. 

